200 years is a nice round number anyway

NOLA.com November 10: Military parade marking Louisiana's bicentennial inspires patriotism in many

It would have been easy to mistake the American flag draped around the shoulders of veteran John Fleming on Saturday as just another symbol of pride in a parade full of such symbols. Fleming, in uniform, rode near the front of the Louisiana Bicentennial Military Parade in a military Jeep driven by friend and fellow veteran Frank Rotermann of New Orleans.

But the flag he wore carried special meaning for both men, and for an entire nation.

“This flag belonged to his father,” Fleming said of Rotermann. “It flew at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked. It's a prized relic, and he brings it anytime he comes out. I was honored he let me carry it today.”

Fleming held up a corner of the 48-star flag. “Touch it,” he said. “Can't you just feel the history?”

Fleming, a Metairie resident who served in the Vietnam War, was one of hundreds of veterans, current military personnel and youth involved in military organizations who marched through the streets of New Orleans to celebrate not only the 200th anniversary of Louisiana's statehood but the special bond among members of the military.

That sounds like a nice inspiring event. The military parade is one of several donor-financed events commemorating the 200th anniversary of Louisiana's having been admitted as a state in 1812. At the end of this year, the Louisiana Bicentennial Commission turns its remaining funds over to a similar effort to mark the Bicentennial of the Battle of New Orleans which is remembered not only for cementing the new state's place in the Union but also for contributing the moment which made the reputation of one of its most noted Presidents.  

So Louisianans can expect more patriotic celebrations like this one in the near future.  You know... if they decide to stick around for them, that is. 

(FOX) -- Louisiana has become the first of 20 states to petition for secession from the U.S. in the wake of President Barack Obama's re-election.

A Slidell woman created the petition which asks the Obama administration to "peacefully grant the state to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own new government."

More than 13,000 people have signed the petition.  25,000 signatures are needed before December 7 to get an "official" response from the White House.